S
stridsberry
Guest
I took a couple weeks off from the ratings because of trips and back-to-school hassle, but they're back! The position in () reflects where the driver was three weeks ago in the ratings, which explains some of the big slides.
1. (3) KEVIN HARVICK 158.5
Winning the title is still a definite long shot – but stranger things have happened.
2. (2) RYAN NEWMAN 154.3
I think it’s time for Ryan to get one of those Roush kill-switch mechanisms, so that he doesn’t wear out his crew any more.
3. (1) MATT KENSETH 143.5
He said was a “stupid” move that got him into the wall. I don’t see anything stupid about racing for the win.
4. (6) JIMMIE JOHNSON 138.1
He’s surpassed his top-5 total (7) from all of last year. Imagine how high it would be if more people gave him spots!
5. (13) TERRY LABONTE 125.3
This was the perfect track and the perfect race for Terry to break that long losing streak. It’s been a long time coming, man; enjoy it.
6. (11) TONY STEWART 123.8
He’s sort of backed his way into the top-10 in points – may fall out again if he has more mid-pack finishes.
7. (9) KURT BUSCH 122.2
Somehow recovered from another questionable move to get back on the lead lap and into the top-15.
8. (5) ROBBY GORDON 121.2
Ricky Craven’s spot is quoted as saying, “That 31 car is looking for a place to wreck.” And he found it in turn one.
9. (4) DALE EARNHARDT JR. 119.3
When you’re nine laps down, and still finish 25th, you know there’s been a lot of attrition.
10. (15) BILL ELLIOTT 110.6
Retirement? As long as Bill’s contending to win at Darlington, there’s no reason to retire.
11. (12) JEFF BURTON 107.5
Being blocked by a lapped car cost him the lead, then loose lug nuts cost him a chance to win.
12. (19) JAMIE McMURRAY 104.5
This is the Jamie McMurray that showed so much potential at the end of last year. I still think he can win Rookie of the Year honors.
13. (18) GREG BIFFLE 103.3
Finishing 10th at Darlington with a broken flywheel is no small feat. And yet he wasn’t even the highest rookie!
14. (17) WARD BURTON 100.0
He finished 19th and still lost four spots in points. Then again, he’s just 30 points away from getting those spots back.
15. (8) MICHAEL WALTRIP 99.1
ON Friday, he said it was a great thing that this date is moving to California. On Sunday, he got caught in a crash on the 7th lap. I don’t it’s a coincidence, knowing The Lady.
16. (10) BOBBY LABONTE 95.7
He finally broke back into the top-10. Too late for a run at the title, but he did gain significant points on the top 5.
17. (7) JEFF GORDON 94.8
What a miserable four-week stretch. Now Jeff knows how it feels to be on a back-marker team, week in and week out.
18. (24) ELLIOTT SADLER 93.8
This was only Elliott’s third top-10 in the last 16 races. Think he wants Shawn Parker back?
19. (14) MARK MARTIN 91.7
The Lady decided that, instead of making a deposit to the concrete, Mark would make one to back of another car.
20. (29) JEREMY MAYFIELD 88.9
The sponsor’s race is a darn good time to have your best run of the season.
21. (25) DALE JARRETT 88.8
Dale seems to have settled into a good week/bad week pattern. At least it’s better than being bad every week.
22. (30) STEVE PARK 86.4
The first time around, Richmond was Steve’s last race in a car. I think he’ll be able to avoid a repeat performance.
23. (31) RICKY CRAVEN 84.5
He scored the most points at Darlington of any driver this season. All hail the new master!
24. (21) JOHNNY BENSON 84.3
It’s hard to get a good finish when your right side tires are on top of another car, if only for a brief moment.
25. (20) JIMMY SPENCER 82.2
Didn’t do so hot in the return…but this isn’t Bristol, is it?
26. (22) STERLING MARLIN 79.9
He made the clean sweep by crashing in both events. Surely not the way he wanted to send the track off.
27. (27) RICKY RUDD 77.5
He lost his power steering, but could only muster 16th instead of 2nd. Curse those young kids!
28. (28) JOE NEMECHEK 75.8
The trick to doing well at Darlington, Joe, is to make sure your car is pointing forward at all times. Thank you for not paying attention.
29. (26) DAVE BLANEY 72.5
His season has been dismal since the spring Darlington race, and not even a return trip could turn it around.
30. (23) TODD BODINE 70.2
He got a lap down early, but didn’t lose any more the rest of the way. Result: 17th place.
31. (16) RUSTY WALLACE 69.0
Three straight finishes of 36th or worse, and only one top-5 all season. No wonder he’s down to 17th in points.
32. (32) JEFF GREEN 66.2
No wonder Jeff’s losing this ride. Who wants a driver that wrecks teammates and blocks lead-lap cars?
33. (34) KENNY WALLACE 63.8
The Stacker 2 bunch does their best work at plate tracks and short tracks. I noticed that Darlington is neither of those.
34. (36) MIKE SKINNER/MB2 62.1
Mike called his crash “driver error.” 49 laps down? That’s more like a screw-up then an error.
35. (40) KEN SCHRADER 61.6
He seemed on his way to a third straight solid run. Then the track closed up right in front of him. And to add insult to injury, the hood flew up.
36. (33) CASEY MEARS 60.0
Even he blamed his spotter for the crash. That’s not good P.R. for the guy, especially if it’s true.
37. (35) TONY RAINES 59.9
He managed to complete exactly three laps after the lap 6 crash – but it was enough to avoid a last-place finish.
38. (37) JASON LEFFLER 57.6
Is it really better for your career to be a back marker in Winston Cup than to be a title contender in the Trucks?
39. (38) KYLE PETTY 55.4
He had a rare (sadly) good run going, until the engine waved him a long, drawn-out good-bye.
40. (39) MORGAN-McCLURE 53.4
Yes, Virginia, Kevin Lepage still knows how to drive a Winston Cup car. Anyone who can finish 15th, on the lead lap, in that car deserves a pat on the back.
41. (41) CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI 38.8
Christian didn’t even get two handfuls of laps to see if that decent qualifying effort would pay off.
42. (42) LARRY FOYT 30.8
Larry definitely should have been in that race – he qualified 6mph faster than Hermie Sadler, for chrissake!
1. (3) KEVIN HARVICK 158.5
Winning the title is still a definite long shot – but stranger things have happened.
2. (2) RYAN NEWMAN 154.3
I think it’s time for Ryan to get one of those Roush kill-switch mechanisms, so that he doesn’t wear out his crew any more.
3. (1) MATT KENSETH 143.5
He said was a “stupid” move that got him into the wall. I don’t see anything stupid about racing for the win.
4. (6) JIMMIE JOHNSON 138.1
He’s surpassed his top-5 total (7) from all of last year. Imagine how high it would be if more people gave him spots!
5. (13) TERRY LABONTE 125.3
This was the perfect track and the perfect race for Terry to break that long losing streak. It’s been a long time coming, man; enjoy it.
6. (11) TONY STEWART 123.8
He’s sort of backed his way into the top-10 in points – may fall out again if he has more mid-pack finishes.
7. (9) KURT BUSCH 122.2
Somehow recovered from another questionable move to get back on the lead lap and into the top-15.
8. (5) ROBBY GORDON 121.2
Ricky Craven’s spot is quoted as saying, “That 31 car is looking for a place to wreck.” And he found it in turn one.
9. (4) DALE EARNHARDT JR. 119.3
When you’re nine laps down, and still finish 25th, you know there’s been a lot of attrition.
10. (15) BILL ELLIOTT 110.6
Retirement? As long as Bill’s contending to win at Darlington, there’s no reason to retire.
11. (12) JEFF BURTON 107.5
Being blocked by a lapped car cost him the lead, then loose lug nuts cost him a chance to win.
12. (19) JAMIE McMURRAY 104.5
This is the Jamie McMurray that showed so much potential at the end of last year. I still think he can win Rookie of the Year honors.
13. (18) GREG BIFFLE 103.3
Finishing 10th at Darlington with a broken flywheel is no small feat. And yet he wasn’t even the highest rookie!
14. (17) WARD BURTON 100.0
He finished 19th and still lost four spots in points. Then again, he’s just 30 points away from getting those spots back.
15. (8) MICHAEL WALTRIP 99.1
ON Friday, he said it was a great thing that this date is moving to California. On Sunday, he got caught in a crash on the 7th lap. I don’t it’s a coincidence, knowing The Lady.
16. (10) BOBBY LABONTE 95.7
He finally broke back into the top-10. Too late for a run at the title, but he did gain significant points on the top 5.
17. (7) JEFF GORDON 94.8
What a miserable four-week stretch. Now Jeff knows how it feels to be on a back-marker team, week in and week out.
18. (24) ELLIOTT SADLER 93.8
This was only Elliott’s third top-10 in the last 16 races. Think he wants Shawn Parker back?
19. (14) MARK MARTIN 91.7
The Lady decided that, instead of making a deposit to the concrete, Mark would make one to back of another car.
20. (29) JEREMY MAYFIELD 88.9
The sponsor’s race is a darn good time to have your best run of the season.
21. (25) DALE JARRETT 88.8
Dale seems to have settled into a good week/bad week pattern. At least it’s better than being bad every week.
22. (30) STEVE PARK 86.4
The first time around, Richmond was Steve’s last race in a car. I think he’ll be able to avoid a repeat performance.
23. (31) RICKY CRAVEN 84.5
He scored the most points at Darlington of any driver this season. All hail the new master!
24. (21) JOHNNY BENSON 84.3
It’s hard to get a good finish when your right side tires are on top of another car, if only for a brief moment.
25. (20) JIMMY SPENCER 82.2
Didn’t do so hot in the return…but this isn’t Bristol, is it?
26. (22) STERLING MARLIN 79.9
He made the clean sweep by crashing in both events. Surely not the way he wanted to send the track off.
27. (27) RICKY RUDD 77.5
He lost his power steering, but could only muster 16th instead of 2nd. Curse those young kids!
28. (28) JOE NEMECHEK 75.8
The trick to doing well at Darlington, Joe, is to make sure your car is pointing forward at all times. Thank you for not paying attention.
29. (26) DAVE BLANEY 72.5
His season has been dismal since the spring Darlington race, and not even a return trip could turn it around.
30. (23) TODD BODINE 70.2
He got a lap down early, but didn’t lose any more the rest of the way. Result: 17th place.
31. (16) RUSTY WALLACE 69.0
Three straight finishes of 36th or worse, and only one top-5 all season. No wonder he’s down to 17th in points.
32. (32) JEFF GREEN 66.2
No wonder Jeff’s losing this ride. Who wants a driver that wrecks teammates and blocks lead-lap cars?
33. (34) KENNY WALLACE 63.8
The Stacker 2 bunch does their best work at plate tracks and short tracks. I noticed that Darlington is neither of those.
34. (36) MIKE SKINNER/MB2 62.1
Mike called his crash “driver error.” 49 laps down? That’s more like a screw-up then an error.
35. (40) KEN SCHRADER 61.6
He seemed on his way to a third straight solid run. Then the track closed up right in front of him. And to add insult to injury, the hood flew up.
36. (33) CASEY MEARS 60.0
Even he blamed his spotter for the crash. That’s not good P.R. for the guy, especially if it’s true.
37. (35) TONY RAINES 59.9
He managed to complete exactly three laps after the lap 6 crash – but it was enough to avoid a last-place finish.
38. (37) JASON LEFFLER 57.6
Is it really better for your career to be a back marker in Winston Cup than to be a title contender in the Trucks?
39. (38) KYLE PETTY 55.4
He had a rare (sadly) good run going, until the engine waved him a long, drawn-out good-bye.
40. (39) MORGAN-McCLURE 53.4
Yes, Virginia, Kevin Lepage still knows how to drive a Winston Cup car. Anyone who can finish 15th, on the lead lap, in that car deserves a pat on the back.
41. (41) CHRISTIAN FITTIPALDI 38.8
Christian didn’t even get two handfuls of laps to see if that decent qualifying effort would pay off.
42. (42) LARRY FOYT 30.8
Larry definitely should have been in that race – he qualified 6mph faster than Hermie Sadler, for chrissake!
Ya'll see that Tony is number 6!!!